The Sunday morning news. [volume] (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1886-1891, 1887-02-20
IT WAS NOT A VALENTINE
BUT A BOX OF POISONED FIGS THAT
WAS SENT HER.
Pretty Nellie wills Made the Victim of
Base Treaehery-The SpauiaTd Whe
fingers at Snake Hill for Assaulting
the Girl Has No Hand In It.

TAG Olfl f1hH NO kAAh0 HI Asa
The readers of the SUNDAY MORNING.
NEWS no doubt rem smber the arrest of
young Spaniard named Malmanado.
for annoying aud following Miss
Nellie Willis. of No. 1914 Fourth
street, whose hand the young man
sought in marriage and was refused
Mrs. Willis, the young lady's mother, it will
also be remembered, forbade Malminado
the house. He was sent to Snake Hill for
thirty days. The sequel to the story was
developed yesterday by the New York potal
authorities ar the following story was re-
ceived by the News last night from the AS
ISOLATED Press, dated New York:
"M,ss Nellie Willis is young lady who
moves in the best circles in Jersey
City. She lives with her widowed
mother at 1879 Fourth street. in
that city. For several weeks she has
been receiving through the mail letters,
some of an obscene chasacser. others con-
tanning passion&.s . ayowals oflove. No at
tention VAS paid 10 them, and most of them
were destroyed, after time the letters
grew abusive. The post-office authorities
were notified. Unavailing efforts We're
made to discover the writer. The letters
we're mailed in Jersey City, New York, and
Brooklyn. On Monday a good sized pack
age was received by Miss Willis. Surprising
it was valentine the package was opened.
Inside was found h4ndsome lacquered
wood box filled with delicious looking fgg,
Miss Willis took one of the figs and vas
about to eat ii, when she noticed greg |
spot on the side. Upon closer examiri /
ton, it was found That tue side had beg |.
opened with a knife. Breaking 1t or II
green powder was found inside. e. g
fig in the box was found to have o. :,
prepared in a similar manner. A 20 I'll
on examination, found that the i ~ 55W
was Paris green. 76T
Miss Wills was taken with nervous e f.
tration. The police were notified, and are
making every effort to discover the scoun-
drel. The post mark was station 10 this
city. None of the family can imagine who
sent the box. Shortly before Christmas
Miss Willis had a romantic adventure.
She met 1ung Spaniard, named IL.
Cisco, at party. He called several times
and then proposed and was refused. Mrs
Willis forbade him the house. He logged
the young lady's footsteps and prosecuted
her with attentions on the street. He
tiually threatened to kill her. He was
arrested. He told the Police Justice that
he was student at the Polytechnic Insti-
tute as Troy, N T., and that he did not
intend to harm Miss Willis. He was dis
charged and has not been seen since"
Investigations by a SUNDAY MORNING
News reporter showed that Miss Nellie
Williss annoyer is not Sisco, as stated in
the Associated Press dispatch, but Charles
Malmanado, who resides in Troy, New
York, and was student in the Troy Poly
technic Institute. He was arrested JAN
uary Sd for assault and battery on Miss
Willis, and was convicted and fined. He
was kept in Jail until last Friday week for
prepayment of the fine imposed and then
sent to Snake Hill, where he still fingers.
Miss Willis, when interviewed last even
ing, stated that on Tuesday last she re-
ceived through the mail, postmarked Jer-
sey City, small package. It was opened
by member of her family and found to
contain four figs. On her return to her
no Use Miss Willis received the figs and
treated the mater as 8 joke; but on dis
covering that the fruit appeared decayed.
she thought that it was meant as an insult.
On further examination she discovered that
three OF the figs had been opened and that
some green substance had been placed in
them and the figs then closed. A carl.
with the following inscription, was found
in the box: compliments of J. Cox" J.
Cox is the brother in-law of Miss Willis,
and his name was put on the card to con-
ceal the identity of the real sender. The
figs were sent to Silvers' drug store, No.
4l0 Grove street, and were examined by
Mr. Somerville, who declared that the green
substance was paris green. SUNDAY
MORNING News reporter interviewed Peter
Cox who married aister OF Miss Willis
short time ago. He Is member of the
firm of Cox and Gross. grocers, on Pavon;a
avenue. From Mr.. Cox s statement it APP
pears that there Is deep mystery beneath
the matter. He stated that his brother.
John Cox, received a letter three months
ago cautioning him against Miss Nelli
Willis to whom he had been attentive
Then Miss Willis received a note caution
ing her against J )hn Cox Mrs. Willis
then received letter advising her to watch
Mr.. Cox. Miss Mamie Willis then received
a letter advising her to have nothing to do
with Peter Cox, who has since married her.
Peter Cox nexf received a letter advising
him to discard Mis- Mamie Willis. All the
letters were oouched IN the most obscene
language unfit for publication, and e
parties named have been in receipt of three
or four of them every week for the past
three months, and they are all in the s me
handwriting. Mr.. Cox. says it is impossi-
BILE for him to say whether the letters are
directed specially against himself and his
brother or against the Willis family. and
knows of no reason why an attack should
be made on either family. Three Jerse,
City men are now under surveillance
by the police. but special circumstances
point to one of them in particular.
He is an unmarried man about
thirty-fve years of age and is well known
by the Willis family. He meets Mr.. Cox
every day and always gives friendly nod
of recognition, as Mr.. Cox SAYS for the pur-
pose of deceivlng him. Mr.. Cox further
stated that Chas. Malmanado, the Cuban